NewJeans

NewJeans is a South Korean girl group formed by ADOR. The group is composed of five members: Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin, and Hyein. NewJeans is known for their girl next door image and 1990s- and 2000s-indebted pop and R&B songs with influences of various dance and club styles.
NewJeans debuted on July 22, 2022, with the single "Attention", their first number-one song on South Korea's Circle Digital Chart. It was followed shortly afterwards by two other singles, "Hype Boy" and "Cookie". The singles were all featured on their eponymous debut extended play (EP), released in August 2022. In January 2023, they released their first single album, OMG, to commercial success. It was accompanied by two singles, "Ditto" and "OMG". "Ditto" gained widespread popularity, becoming the longest-running number-one song on the Circle Digital Chart and the group's first entry on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart.
Their second EP, Get Up, peaked at number one on the US Billboard 200 and sold over one million copies in South Korea. Its lead single, "Super Shy", became the group's highest-charting single on the Billboard Global 200 (number two), the US Billboard Hot 100, and the UK Singles Chart. NewJeans has received rookie awards and were featured in listicles such as Time Next Generation Leaders and Forbes Korea Power Celebrity 40. Aside from music, NewJeans has sponsored and collaborated with several brands, including , Levi's, Coca-Cola, LG Electronics, Apple Inc., and McDonald's Korea.
Name
The group's name, NewJeans, is a double entendre. It alludes to the idea that jeans are a timeless fashion item and the group's intention to carve a timeless image for themselves. The name is also a word play on the phrase "new genes", referring to the group ushering a new generation of pop music.
History
2011–2022: Pre-debut activities and formation
Prior to debuting with NewJeans, several group members were involved in television, music and dance. When Australian-born Danielle Marsh lived in South Korea, she was a regular cast member of tvN's Rainbow Kindergarten, a variety show that aired until 2011. She also appeared in the TV shows Jesse's Play Kitchen and My Heart's Crayon. Hyein debuted as a member of the children's music group U.SSO Girl in November 2017 under the stage name U.Jeong, before departing from the group one year later. In December 2020, she joined the music group and YouTube collective Play With Me Club formed by PocketTV, and graduated from the group on May 3, 2021. Vietnamese-Australian Hanni Pham began performing in Melbourne as a member of the Aemina Dance Crew who covered the choreography of K-pop groups. Hanni and Minji made a guest appearance in BTS's 2021 music video for "Permission to Dance".
Preparations for a new girl group in collaboration between Big Hit Entertainment and Source Music began as early as 2019 under the direction of Min Hee-jin, who joined the company as CBO that same year and is widely recognized for her art direction as visual director at SM Entertainment. Global auditions took place between September and October 2019, and casting into the group commenced from the beginning of 2020. In late 2021, it was announced that the project moved to Hybe's newly established independent label ADOR, after Min was appointed the label's CEO. A second round of global auditions were held between December 2021 and January 2022, and the group's line-up was finalized in March 2022. Dubbed "Min Hee-jin's Girl Group" by several media outlets, the group was originally scheduled to launch in 2021 but was later postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
2022–present: Introduction, debut, and Get Up
On July 1, 2022, ADOR teased the launch of their new girl group by posting three animated videos of the numbers "22", "7" and "22", fueling speculation that content would be released on July 22. The group released the music video for their debut single, "Attention", on July 22 as a surprise release, without any prior promotion or information on the group's lineup. The move has been described by Billboard as "risky-but-ultimately invigorating", crediting its success to "an emphasis on the music before anything else". The video was followed by an announcement of their upcoming eponymous debut extended play, which would contain four tracks, including two additional singles. On July 23, the group's second single, "Hype Boy", was released alongside a clip revealing the names of the members, further accompanied by four other music videos for the song, specific to the members' perspectives. "Hype Boy" became the longest-running song on the Billboard Global 200 by a K-pop female act, charting for 35 weeks. A music video for their b-side "Hurt" was released two days later. Pre-orders for the EP surpassed 444,000 copies in three days.
On August 1, NewJeans digitally released their debut EP alongside its third single, "Cookie". The song was criticized by some reviewers, who thought the lyrics contained a sexual innuendo. ADOR denied the accusation and stated that the lyrics refer to "the paired idea of burning CDs and baking cookies, which share the same conceptual verb in Korean". The physical version of the EP was released on August 8 and sold over one million copies, becoming the best selling debut album by a K-pop female act in South Korea and the only debut album to achieve this since Circle Chart's establishment in 2011. The group made their broadcast debut on Mnet's M Countdown on August 4, performing all three singles.
NewJeans released "Ditto" on December 19, 2022, as the first single from their first single album, OMG. "Ditto" became the longest-running number-one song on South Korea's Circle Digital Chart, topping the chart for thirteen weeks. It was NewJeans' first entry on both the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 82, and the UK Singles Chart, charting at number 95. OMG was released on January 2, 2023. Reviewers commended the album for its retro-style theme. It debuted at number one on the Circle Album Chart, selling 700,000 copies in its first week of release. It became their first album to sell over one million copies, shortly before New Jeans also reached one million copies sold. OMG was accompanied by a second single of the same name, which went viral on TikTok. "OMG" peaked at number 74 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming their highest-ranked song on the chart. In April 2023, NewJeans released "Zero" in collaboration with Coca-Cola to promote Coca-Cola Zero Sugar. In May 2023, they released a second single, "Be Who You Are (Real Magic)", in collaboration with Coca-Cola alongside Jon Batiste, J.I.D and Camilo.
NewJeans held their first sold-out fan meeting, titled Bunnies Camp, at the SK Olympic Handball Gymnasium on July 1–2, 2023. The group released their second EP, Get Up, on July 21, 2023. The EP debuted at number two on the Circle Album Chart and sold 1.65 million copies in its first week of release, becoming the group's third consecutive album to sell over one million copies. It was supported by three singles: "Super Shy", "ETA", and "Cool with You". "Super Shy" topped the Circle Digital Chart, earning NewJeans their third number-one single in South Korea, and became their best-performing track on several international charts. The commercial success of the track lead to NewJeans achieving their first number one on the Billboard Emerging Artists chart. All the tracks received music videos, which featured collaborations with multiple brands and personalities, including Apple Inc., The Powerpuff Girls, South Korean actress Hoyeon, and Hong Kong actor Tony Leung. In August 2023, they had their first live performance in the United States at Lollapalooza, becoming the first K-pop girl group to perform at the festival. NewJeans released a remake of Kim Jong-seo's "Beautiful Restriction" for the soundtrack of A Time Called You on September 1, 2023.
On September 26, 2023, League of Legends developer Riot Games announced that NewJeans would perform "Gods", the anthem for the 2023 League of Legends World Championship, set to be held in South Korea from October 10 to November 19.
Artistry
NewJeans' music spans genres such as R&B, electropop, and hip hop. It is characterized by mellow beats, atmospheric synthesizers, and live vocals. Their debut EP and first single album OMG are predominantly midtempo pop and R&B that evoke music of the 1990s and 2000s decades. There were comparisons to the sound of late-1990s K-pop girl groups. Music critics also identified elements of mid-2000s electronic and dance styles such as UK garage, Baltimore club, Jersey club, and moombahton. With their second EP Get Up, they ventured more into dance and club music with a more rhythmic production expanding on the group's UK garage-influenced past releases.
Some critics, such as Sheldon Pearce and Minsoo Joshua Kim writing for NPR, described NewJeans' music as soft, contained, and delicate, which is a stark contrast to their contemporaries' "maximalist" and "harsh, buzzing" sounds. Choi Eun-soo of the Hankook Ilbo characterized the group's sound as "easy listening" devoid of "explosive" EDM embellishments that had saturated the market. The Guardian Laura Snapes described their songs as "sleek and lethally hooky, yet playful and teeming with retro synths and experimental flourishes".
NewJeans' music is mainly produced by South Korean singers 250 and Park Jin-su (also known as FRNK), while the members often participate in songwriting. As the executive producer, Min Hee-jin selects all NewJeans' songs and is responsible for the recording process. Regarding the group's debut EP, Min said she "wanted to break the tacit formula of K-pop and make an album with the music I want". Min disliked "high-pitched parts, awkward raps that suddenly appear, and singing methods that feel uniform" and chose to record without guide vocals, allowing the members to develop their own singing styles. Pearce argued that NewJeans' frequent collaborations with certain producers brought forth a cohesive discography with distinct identity and aesthetic. Four of the members have been credited for songwriting at least once: Danielle for "Attention" and "Super Shy", Hanni for "OMG" and "Hype Boy", Minji for "Ditto" and Haerin for "New Jeans".
Endorsements
NewJeans has been called a "mega blue chip" in the advertising industry, earning an estimated total of billion by April 2023 according to Sports Chosun. The group represents fashion store , eyewear brand Carin, contact lens brand Olens, jewelry brand Stonehenge, and Levi's. They have served as global ambassadors for Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, LG Electronics' Gram laptop, and Lotte's Pepero. All of the members became ambassadors for different fashion and beauty brands: Hanni for Gucci and Armani Beauty, Hyein for Louis Vuitton, Danielle for Burberry and YSL Beauty, Minji for Chanel Korea, and Haerin for Dior. In February 2023, NewJeans became public relations ambassadors of the city of Seoul. They were appointed honorary ambassadors for the 2023 Seoul Fashion Week, promoting local brands such as Ulkin, Kanghyuk, and Kusikhoc.
NewJeans has modeled for SK Telecom's "0 (Young)" campaign, promoting the iPhone 14 Pro, Shinhan Bank's "New Sol" campaign, endorsing the bank's mobile app Sol, 's advertisements for their 2024 0 Won Mega Pass, 5252 by OiOi's pictorial for their signature down jacket, McDonald's McSpicy chicken burger in South Korea, and Nike's campaigns "Feel Your All", endorsing their leggings, and "Maxxed Out", commemorating Air Max Day. NewJeans also collaborated with Pinkfong to promote their song "Ninimo" and with Korea Craft and Design Foundation, an affiliate of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, to promote hanji. In collaboration with both Musinsa and LG Electronics, the group released a limited edition of the Gram laptop with gadgets inspired by NewJeans' concept. Outfits matching the laptop were available to customers who had made a reservation for LG Electronics' pop-up store which opened in Seoul in January 2023 to promote the product.
Philanthropy
In December 2022, it was announced that NewJeans and ADOR would annually donate part of the profits from the group's album sales to The Snail of Love charity to fund cochlear implant surgery and speech therapy treatment for the hearing-impaired. In February 2023, NewJeans and ADOR donated to the World Food Programme to help victims of the 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquake.
Impact and accolades
Following their debut, NewJeans won numerous rookie awards at the Golden Disc Awards, the Korean Music Awards, the Melon Music Awards, and the Seoul Music Awards, among others; with their 'Performance of the Year' win at the 2022 Asia Artist Awards, NewJeans became the fastest girl group to win a Daesang upon debut, achieving the feat in only 134 days. The group has been included in several listicles, including Forbes Korea Power Celebrity 40 and 30 Under 30 – Asia (Entertainment & Sports), Time Next Generation Leaders, and Gold House A100 List. In 2023, NewJeans broke the Guinness World Record for the fastest K-pop act to reach one billion streams on Spotify. Writing for The Korea Times, music critic Kim Do-heon attributed NewJeans' success in part to their "carefree, laid-back, and natural" sound, while Tamar Herman wrote in Vogue that their music "immediately changed up the face of South Korea's pop idol scene".
NewJeans quickly established themselves in the fashion industry thanks to their girl-next-door image and international appeal. The Business of Fashion said they "became an overnight fashion favorite", while Vogue called them an "exciting and welcome addition" to the 2023 Seoul Fashion Week. Some fashion designers have named NewJeans among the influences for their collections: Bach Mai for his pre-fall 2023 collection and Yoon Ahn for the fall 2023 ready-to-wear collection of her brand Ambush. After partnering with NewJeans in 2022, Musinsa reported that sales in the women's fashion category doubled compared to the previous year. In 2023, NewJeans were listed as one of the 500 most influential people in the fashion industry by The Business of Fashion.
Members
Minji
Hanni
Danielle
Haerin
Hyein
Discography
Extended plays
New Jeans (2022)
Get Up (2023)
Filmography
NewJeans Code in Busan (2022)
Videography
Music videos
Live performances
See also
List of best-selling girl groups
Notes
References
External links
South Korean girl groups
K-pop music groups
South Korean pop music groups
South Korean contemporary R&B musical groups
South Korean dance music groups
South Korean musical quintets
Musical groups established in 2022
Musical groups from Seoul
2022 establishments in South Korea
Hybe Corporation artists
Geffen Records artists
Melon Music Award winners
Golden Disc Award winners
Korean Music Award winners
World record holders